A review by skylacine
Opgejaagd by Barbara Jurgens

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Favorite book I've read this year so far. Runa's journey is grand and epic, and you really just admire this girl and her immense dedication to getting her wolves to safety, while not having a clear ending location to her journey. She's consistently putting her own life on the line for these animals, but not once does she consider abandoning her mission. It was also really nice and wholesome to see her slowly accept new friendships throughout her journey, as she encounters a few helpful allies along the way. Their relationships were just super well-written and wholesome.

Now, for an element I still don't like (kind of the only element of the entire book I don't vibe with: Rocco. I get what the author was going for, having the mysterious stranger and all, but even when

he's no longer stuck in his wolf form he just rubs me the wrong way. His romance with Runa does not feel genuine at all, instead rather forced. And at times (even in book one) I feel that Rocco just comes off as creepy rather than mysterious and alluring which is probably the author's intention. I genuinely could've done without him as a character at all in these two books.

Still, the entire rest is fantastic. This book does seem pretty conclusive, so I doubt there'll be a third book, but there's still one or two things left open which could be touched on in future installments. Should there ever be a third book, I certainly do not object to that.

Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/05/book-review-hunted-by-barbara-jurgens.html